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The Power Vertical

The Power Vertical is a blog and podcast for Russia wonks and Kremlin watchers by Brian Whitmore. It covers emerging and developing trends in Russian politics, shining a spotlight on the high-stakes power struggles, machinations, and clashing interests that shape Kremlin policy today.

Host and Eurasia Center Senior Fellow Brian Whitmore invites guest experts to deliver their insights and analysis in this weekly podcast. The Atlantic Council and the Charles T. McDowell Center for Global Studies at the University of Texas at Arlington co-sponsor this production.

The Russia Tomorrow series

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The Eurasia Center’s mission is to enhance transatlantic cooperation in promoting stability, democratic values and prosperity in Eurasia, from Eastern Europe and Turkey in the West to the Caucasus, Russia and Central Asia in the East.

Content

A Belarusian soldier of the 11th separate mechanized brigade participates in a previous combat exercise on Feb 16, 2022. (Source: EYEPRESS via Reuters Connect)

New Atlanticist

May 6, 2022

Russian War Report: Belarus launches “combat preparedness test”

By Digital Forensic Research Lab

The Belarusian military began unannounced combat drills, the Kremlin drops the term "denazification," and a Latin American RT influencer resigns.

Belarus Disinformation

New Atlanticist

May 6, 2022

Putin and Xi are accelerating their push against democracy. Here’s how the US can fight back.

By Patrick Quirk, David O. Shullman

The democracies of the world need to team up against Russia's and China's joint promotion of illiberalism.

China International Norms

UkraineAlert

May 6, 2022

Countering the Kremlin: America must not wait for European unity

By Olexander Scherba

Vladimir Putin's ongoing invasion of Ukraine marks the culmination of Russia’s long campaign to corrupt Europe. The EU condemns the war while at the same time sponsoring it, writes Olexander Scherba.

Conflict Corruption

UkraineAlert

May 6, 2022

Making Putin pay: Russia must finance the rebuilding of post-war Ukraine

By Kira Rudik

Making Putin pay: Russian assets currently frozen in the West could potentially be used to finance the rebuilding of post-war Ukraine but this will require both creativity and political will from Western leaders.

Conflict Economic Sanctions

In the News

May 5, 2022

Koster in Europe’s Edge: NATO must re-learn deterrence

By Timo S. Koster

Timo Koster writes that the Western reaction to the current crisis in Ukraine shows that NATO will have to revive the concept of deterrence, and quickly.

China Conflict

In the News

May 5, 2022

Samotin in the Wall Street Journal: Why Russian conscripts can’t subdue Ukraine

By Atlantic Council

On May 5, Laura Resnick Samotin published an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal examining why Russian conscripts have underperformed in the war in Ukraine.  “We have already seen one recent war between conscript armies. While conscription does not appear to have played a major role in the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020, the current […]

Conflict Defense Policy

In the News

May 5, 2022

O’Toole quoted in S&P Global on the US imposing secondary sanctions to prevent Russia from selling oil elsewhere

Read the full article here.

Economic Sanctions Economy & Business
Several tiny satellites photographed by an Expedition 33 crew member on the International Space Station. The satellites were released outside the Kibo laboratory using a Small Satellite Orbital Deployer attached to the Japanese module’s robotic arm on Oct. 4, 2012. Source: NASA, “Several tiny satellites,” Wikimedia Commons, October 4, 2012, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ISS-33_Several_tiny_satellites_1.jpg.

Report

May 5, 2022

Small satellites: The implications for national security

By Nicholas Eftimiades

Forward Defense nonresident senior fellow Nicholas Eftimiades considers how the US government can better leverage commercial satellites to enhance space security.

China Defense Industry

BelarusAlert

May 4, 2022

Putin’s Ukraine War: Desperate Belarus dictator strikes back

By Brian Whitmore

Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka is seeking to introduce the death penalty for anti-war activists who are sabotaging Russian troop movements in protest over Belarus's supporting role in Putin's Ukraine invasion.

Belarus Conflict

In the News

May 4, 2022

Deni in Foreign Policy: Yes, the United States should weaken Russia

By John R. Deni

John Deni argues that the US should seek to weaken Russia to be able to focus on China in the long term.

China Conflict

Experts